OVS Weekly Update
September 21, 2018 Volume 82
Mark Your Calendars!
Learning Coach Training
Synergy Social is next week and the last week of every month!! Here are next week's topics:
Learning Coach Exchange--Bring some of your educational materials that you don't use anymore and leave with some to use this school year. If you don't have materials, that's fine, too! We are here to support one another. We will go down to the basement together to "shop" and head up for a good discussion.
Tips & Tricks share out--What has worked for you and your learner this school year so far? What HASN'T worked? Sometimes we learn more from what doesn't work! Come prepared to share out some of your successes and failures so far to learn from one another!
Open House
Thursday, September 27th, 5:30-7:30pm
Come to Open House to allow your child to show off their hard work so far!! Your students have done labs, made goals, worked on their skills, and made new friends! They can’t wait to show you!!
District Math Night!
Math Night!
Parents are invited to the District Math Nights to learn instructional strategies to help support their learners in math. Are you confused about how to teach math with manipulatives? Is your child frustrated with the traditional way of learning math? This workshop will teach you how to teach at home using proven instructional strategies. The next workshop is October 3!
Growth Mindset
The power of positive self-talk
Robotics
We continue to look for aspiring robotics engineers at OVS! Our robotics clubs will begin the week of September 10th. We will be running two nights for elementary and middle school robotics. Middle school (7th – 8th) will be on Tuesdays from 4:30 to 6:30. Elementary (4th – 6th) will be on Thursdays from 4:30 to 6:30.
All practices are at OVS in the robotics room. During the year up to two (2) Saturdays will be required for competitions around Omaha. Competitions usually last a full day at local schools.
If your learner is interested, please reach out to Mr. Gamble, our robotics coach, via email to express interest. He can be reached at thomas.gamble@ops.org. We look forward to working with learners and accomplishing great things with our robotics program!
OVS Synergy
OVS Synergy- Our non-traditional version of a parent teacher organization. All are included and invited to participate, donate, and engage.
OVS Synergy Mission: A collaborative Organization that Creates Engagement and Learning Opportunities for Teachers and parents to support Student success.
OVS Board: We have full board and are excited and motivated for a wonderful year!!
OVS Synergy Facebook Group
Connect with OVS learning coaches in a closed group on Facebook!This group is for those of us who are enrolled in OVS. The group focuses on questions as we begin the year, questions regarding the children's homework, technology related questions that pertain to OVS, field trip information and updates, and anything else that comes up that we wish to discuss. Click the below link to request to join and engage in the conversations!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ovsfamilies/
Box Top WARS!!!
Bring in your Box Tops now through Oct. 5th! The class who brings in the most box tops will win a prize! Loose box tops will count as 1 point. If they are glued on a sheet when turned in then they will count for two points. Blank box tops sheets can be picked up at the school! Help us reach our goal of collecting 100 sheets!
School Spirit Week
Sept 25-27
Show your school spirit but wearing your OVS or blue shirts!T-Shirts
Shirts for Sale
Need a shirt for spirit days this year? Purchase shirts here! Orders will close on Oct. 3rd.
Coming Soon:
Family Bowling Night at the Mark
Check back for more details about this soon!
Learning Coach Exchange:
OVS Synergy will kick off our first Learning Coach Exchange next week, September 25 – 27. Bring in those books your kids have read, and curriculum items you want to exchange. If your items aren’t ready next week, bring them in later. Take the items downstairs at The Den (The OVS Building) and we will display them for all to take. Parents are welcome to visit the Learning Coach Exchange area during the monthly Synergy Social.
Synergy Social
During the last week of each month, OVS Synergy will host get a together during Face to Face time for Learning Coaches to talk, share tips, and ask questions. The winter gets long for us Learning Coaches if we don’t have a strategy to keep ahead of the winter time angst. So, don’t hesitate to post your questions or concerns in the Learning Coach Lounge or sit and chat before the last week of the month if you want a response sooner.
Ms. Rogers' Class Update
Learners worked on identifying which numbers are greater or less. We also worked on using the correct symbols to show greater than >, less than <, or equal to =. In small group we worked on place value of thousands, hundreds, tens, and ones. Learners played a new game called Post A Letter that focused on number recognition all the way to 10,000 if they wanted to challenge themselves. Each week we continue to focus on handwriting/writing, you may have noticed handwriting paper with your learners name written with highlighter. This is just for practice at home. The past couple of weeks I have been working individually with students to identify which letters/sounds they know and ones we need to work on. Please take some time to work on this at home too. I will be letting you know what letter/sounds need to be worked on. Learners who know their letters/sounds have been focusing on sight words. In your learners OneNote under Curriculum Resources I have added a list of the 300 most common words in reading and writing, along with ideas of how to practice at home. I appreciate your support in helping our learners become readers!
Next week:
We will continue to focus on place value and numbers next week too. Learners will be working in small groups to demonstrate mastery of this area of number sense. Writing will continue to be a focus, as we will work on writing our 5 Star Sentence: Capital letter to start my sentence, Punctuation to end my sentence, Use Finger Spaces, Use Neat Handwriting, and My Sentence Makes Sense. Learners will work in small groups to practice letters/sounds or sight words.
I have added some new resources to our Symbaloo page for letters, sounds, sight words, and phonemic awareness.
Don't forget to bring your BoxTops for our classroom competition!!
Mr. Dowling's Class update
Week in Review:
We had another great week in 2nd and 3rd Grade. Routines and procedures in class are coming along and becoming more natural. We had a fire drill and all learners did a great job of meeting the expectations. We adjusted our station rotation this week and assigned groups to start at certain stations. It seemed to work much better.
This Week:
I will be benchmarking students this week to narrow down the level at which they are reading and comprehending. This will help me find books to use with them so they can feel successful. On that note, if they have a book they are reading at home, please have them bring it to school with them. We are working on their reading stamina. It’s helpful for them to have a book they are invested in.
**We are collecting boxtops! Please bring them in. Second and Third Grade wants to win the competition!!
Mrs. Walker's class update
Week in Review: I love all the progress I have been seeing this week! Please make sure when you are turning in artifacts you are writing the grade on each artifact. Also when turning in Literature assignments please write what Unit and Lesson it is on the artifact so I know what I am looking at.
During math centers this week I introduced a new concept for students who do not know their math facts. If they write a t-chart for their math facts, they will have a strategy they can use when they need it rather than relying on a multiplication chart. We had a great time learning a new math game called place value Yahtzee!
Here is an example of the t-chart!
Looking Ahead: We will be benchmarking this week to find each student's reading level. We will also be collecting boxtops and 4th and 5th grade wants to win!
Mr. Gamble's Class Update
Week in Review:
Our face-to-face time is running smoothly. We are in full swing of addressing learners where they are in their lessons. This has allowed us to do a lot of reviewing, reteaching, and retaking of assessments to assure comprehension of topics. Learners are learning the system and adjusting to the new flow using our “road map” each day.
Online lessons continue to happen daily. See below for the schedule to ensure your learners are in attendance. I am looking into why K12 is not listing some learners as “Optional” when I change their status. If a student is optional, they are not required to attend, but are welcome to for additional assistance. “Required” learners must attend the session for lesson assistance.
Looking Ahead:
Learners will continue to use their Passports to check in with each Learning Facilitator and discuss that subject area. These passports will also notify Learning Coaches what was done in class and what the next steps are for learners.
Should your learner have a question or struggle, please encourage them to reach out to us. If they are reserved, then please email the appropriate teacher and we will make note of that need and address it. We are a team and encourage all parties (facilitator, coach, and learner) to communicate.
PIT Stop is available on Friday mornings from 10:00 – 11:00 for learners that need assistance. This is an ONLINE session. I will be actively in the session and available to answer questions or model lessons for learners in need.
Resources:
There are countless resources on the internet for math. Throughout the year I will post some here that could assist your learner or yourself. Learning coaches can use these to check the work of a learner or preview topics.
This month’s resource can be effective for all courses. Desmos provides a free graphing calculator that is helpful for verifying or graphing equations, expressions, and inequalities. It can be used to show graphs if equations in assignments or to check the work of a learner.
Weekly Online Math Lessons:
Most online sessions will not last the entire block of time, unless needed for individual help. We will work in mini-lessons addressing specific needs. If “Required” is listed on the session, you must attend that session. If “Optional” is listed, you do not have to attend, but CAN attend if you’d like help or a review.
- Math 06: Mondays @ 9:15 – 10:00.
- Math 07: Mondays @ 10:15 – 11:00.
- Math 08: Fridays @ 9:15 – 10:00.
- Algebra 1: Wednesdays @ 1:00 – 2:00.
- Geometry & Honors: Tuesdays @ 1:00 – 2:00.
Mrs. Felten's Class Update
Mrs. Robison's Class Update
If you are following the pacing guide, you know that your learner should be finished with their first module in ELA. To complete a module, students must finish all work and pass the summative assessments with an A or a B. Summative assessments provide opportunities for your learner to demonstrate what they have learned over the course of the module. Each module in ELA will typically have two assessment components: a writing product and a module exam.
I encourage you to look at your learner’s final writing product and test (if you haven’t already!). How did they do? If they earned an A or a B on each, the next module is open for them. If they have not completed the work or have not demonstrated mastery, how might you support them at home?
One thing that will help all learners is the reminder to read and follow directions carefully. Follow directions on an assignment. Follow directions on the test. Be sure to answer all parts of a question. Check assignment expectations and the rubric before turning in a writing assignment. Getting your learner into this habit will help increase your their success!
Not sure how to support them at home? Reach out to me! And, for those learners who are behind or need help with a topic or skill, we are here for PIT on Wednesday’s from 1:00-3:00. Please email ahead so that we know what your learner will want to focus on during their time! This helps us be more prepared!
If you have questions or need help with anything, please don’t hesitate to reach out!
Mrs. Barry's Art class update
K-8 art for the year is underway! Learners should be following the pacing guide for their grade band and completing one art lesson per week.
Next Face to Face Sessions:
- K-5, Week of October 1st.
- 6-8, Week of October 8th.
*Please bring your portfolio with completed artwork to be checked these weeks.
9th Grade Newsletter
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Mission Statement
Vision
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Integrity
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Omaha Virtual School
Email: virtualschool@ops.org
Website: ovs.k12.com
Location: 4640 S 59th St, Omaha, NE, United States
Phone: (531)299-0269
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OPSVirtualSchool/
Twitter: @OPS_Virtual